A Summer's Worth of Wishing
by AznChibi
Summary: Riku's past: She fell in love, but what if all of it vanished over night? GenmaxOC Spin-off of the Ninja Taboo series. Internet and anime in the Naruto world...Just...go with it.
1. The First Summer

I don't own Naruto, but I own Riku.

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**Dedicated to my friend Cindy, the cutest friend ever.

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_It was four years ago when I first saw him. It probably took a few months for him to notice me though._

Hot, hot, _hot_. No, not him. The weather. How can anyone live in a place like this? It was like a freakin' desert! It felt like 120 degrees, even though in the back of my mind, I knew it was only 93. Didn't feel any different if you ask me. All I wanted to do was drop everything, go into our new apartment, collapse on the floor and sleep. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes. For my mom at least. She wouldn't stop barking out orders at me, as if I was a dog. Shut up. Two words. It was all I wanted to say. But that would lead to me not being able to leave the house for a week. _Man, we have so much junk! _I thought, dropping the huge load in my arms.

Let's skip ahead…a year and half. Why? Because during that time, there wasn't much going on really. Anyway, it was still blazing hot, no matter what time of the year it was. There I was on the couch, bored, hot and frustrated. All there was on TV was Nick Jr. and Infomercials. Naturally, I chose to watch the Infomercials over frying my teen brain from Dora the Explorer and her Godforsaken backpack. _Knock, knock._

"Someone get the door!" my mom yelled from her room. My savior has come. Thank goodness. Rushing to the door, I unlocked it and pulled it open. There he stood, clad in swim trunks, goggles, and lots of water. "Hey Kakashi."

"You goin' swimming or not?"

A smile spread across my face. "Of course, I'll be right out." I shut the door and ran to my room, hearing a huge splash outside, probably from him doing a cannonball.

"Mom! Where's my swimsuit!?"

"Your closet!"

"I'm in my closet and it's not here!"

"Did you check the bathroom!?"

"Bathroom! God, I'm an idiot!" I yelled at myself, suddenly remembering that I had washed it last night.

I ran into my tiny bathroom and saw my suit hanging there. It was a really weird green one-piece that I had gotten for my birthday. Not really my style or color, but it was a good fit. Changing quickly, I continued my search for my swimming needs. _Towel, check. Goggles, check. Tube, check._ I thought as I went down my mental list, making sure I had everything to enjoy my afternoon, piling everything in my arms, around them, over my shoulder and head, everywhere. In a rush, I kicked my feet into my flipflops and zipped out the door.

Upon nearing the pool, I noticed the other two boys there as well. They were both around as old everyone else, but twice as annoying. Asuma was really obnoxious, always thinking he knew everything, but Guy was just a pest that wouldn't shut up about all his power of youth! I can't believe I was able to be in the same pool as him!

I turned to throw my beach towel at the usual off-white, kind of brown pool chairs, but abruptly stopped when I realized someone was sitting there. Can you guess who it is? And no, it's not my mother.

The towel accidentally slipped through my fingers as my arm was still in full swing and landed on his head. _Oh crap._ We both paused for a few seconds until he pulled it off and set it down on the pool chair next to the one he sat in. Behind me I could hear the other boys' laughs and splashes, feeling something wet pummel me. A squeal escaped as the cold water ran down my back. I spun around, glaring at Kakashi who was laughing his head off. A small bass chuckle sounded and I turned back to the guy who had a smile on his face. "Uh...I'm...sorry about the towel."

I could feel my cheeks tinge pink as he raised an eyebrow followed by another chuckle. "It's cool." He stood up and walked to the deep end of the pool as I followed him with my eyes. I mean, I've seen him a few times carrying a a big load of laundry to the laundry room beside the parking lot or when I leave for school as he's walking down from the second floor of the apartment, but I've never seriously looked at him. _Sigh_ Oh well.

"Hey Genma! You jumping in or not?!" Kakashi yelled as he wiped the water from his eyes at the shallow end. He took a few steps back to the edge of the strip of garden against the wall and cannonballed into the 8-ft end. Some water splashed over the edge, washing out a row of ants on the hot pavement. My brain repeated his name a few times but I shook it out of my head, coming back to my senses and the pool. I kicked my yellow flipflops off and pulled my goggles over my eyes. _I don't need to repeat his name THAT many times..._

"Hey Riku..." I cut Kakashi off and jumped into the water toes first and watched the bubbles rush to the surface, feeling my body shiver in the chlorine filled water. I kicked up and took a big breath of air, my hand grabbing the edge as I lifted up my goggles to see everyone clearly. Well, as clearly as I could see with water in my eyes. Looking up, I saw the guy, now known as Genma, crouching in a puddle dripping from his trunks. "Hi, I'm Genma."

"Uh..." I finally noticed I was staring and came back to Earth. "...Hey! I'm Riku."

--

I didn't know what happened, but it felt like kindergarten again. Like when you meet someone, ask their name, tell them your's, and 5 minutes later, you're best friends. It wasn't exactly in 5 minutes, seeing as how I was the only girl among the four guys that I didn't share a lot of common interest with, but we were all playing as if we knew each other forever.

"MARCO!"

"POLO!!"

That game went on for a while until it was my turn to be it. First of all, I'm not the best swimmer, and second, I don't like to follow the whole 'keep your eyes closed' rule. I yelled out 'marco' a few times but just heard silence. I stretched my white goggles over my forehead and looked around while trying hard to tread water. "Guys? Helloooooo...?"

A hand suddenly wrapped around my ankle and pulled me into the water. My eyes were glued closed as I fought for air. Swimming hard, the hand let go and my head broke the surface, spitting out the water that I had sucked in. I wiped the water from my eyes, swimming to the shallow end. Once again, the laughter ensued. I emptied my goggles of the pool water and threw it onto the ledge. "That wasn't fair!"

"It's your fault for cheating!" The guys laughed and I splashed a wave of water at them, only to get splashed back four times as much. Unexpectedly, a splash fight started and I quickly ran as best I could in water, and stepped out via stairs. I picked up my goggles and wiped my face dry with my fishy beach towel. I could see the sky turning a gradient of purple, pink, and orange. "Man, anyone know what time it is?" A shiver went through my spine as a breeze passed. I threw the towel around myself and slipped into my sandals. With perfect timing, as usual, my mom yelled from our porch that faced the pool, like most of the other porches in the apartment, telling me to come home. I sighed and collected my pool toys. "See ya guys, same time tomorrow?"

"Of course." All the guys' voice echoed what Genma had said as they waved and got back to their swimming while I ran to my front door, leaving behind wet footprints.

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A/N: This is really something I was writing with different characters, but since there really isn't anywhere else to post it, I decided to adapt it to tie in with the Ninja Taboo series, extending on Riku and filling in any gaps in the stories. By the way, the first three chapters I wrote a while ago, so sorry if its bad...well...sorry if my writing in general offends you .


	2. The Second Summer

**Dedicated to my friend Allison, the other one that tolerates my weird craziness. Keep rocking~  


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The summer before the eleventh grade (when the ninja academy was still using the grade system with the higher grades conveniently using grades thirteen and up) was pretty much just swimming and completely forgetting the feeling of stress and the voices of the nagging teachers. Now if only that lasted for a few more months. I remember how much I loved the old school system, most of the year for classes and three months of summer, unlike now where its classes year round and you can advance to Chuunin whenever you were ready. Ah, the western system. Too bad they're now back to the traditional ways.

So anyway, the new school year jumped at me from out of nowhere and I was back to early morning rising and endless lectures. Kakashi, Genma, and I seemed to act like strangers when we stepped onto campus. Then again, they were a few years older and in higher levels of training so it wasn't really surprising at all. There was the occasional nod or smile, but nothing more than that. Guess the only way to actually talk was after school when the pool sat there, waiting for its usual teen guests.

Well, school's boring so...let's just skip ahead to summer. Come on, what could I write about on school events? Nothing. Ok, so...summer before the twelfth grade. Shoot, no matter how hot it was usually, there are those days where it's just on the border temperature between swimming and internet. It always felt like they were mocking us since they always leaned to internet.

Wow, the internet. Something that, for some reason, no one really uses in Konoha anymore. Perhaps it was because of the third Hokage, the most traditional man I have _ever_ met. 'Everything should be written out and sent in person. Everything should be kept in its old traditional ways to avoid conflict and really grasp the true origins of the ninja way. None of that technology nonsense. We have no use of contacting with the west.' But all that was _after_ I had become a jonin, so back to my story.

My trained fingers quickly tapped away on my keyboard as I stared into my monitor, hearing the sound effects of my character's attacks. It was so sudden, just like the school year; three months into the year and most of the student body was addicted to a single computer game. But I had to agree, it was so fun.

I controlled my character to jump to a safe, monster-free zone as I read through my friends' chat box. Quickly replying, a broad _boop_ rang through my speakers and a small bubble popped up at the bottom. Apparently, Genma had finally logged on. It was a little unusual for him to log on this late in the afternoon, seeing as how most of my friends were already slashing their way through the virtual world.

I typed a quick 'Hey', ignoring all the laws of grammar and went back to my killing. Everyone all mirrored me and said hi to him, forcing him to type a reply a few times for everyone. While I played, I wanted to talk to my friend, Kurenai, about something but the problem was...my character could die so easily if I went to type, and unfortunately, there weren't any safe platforms anywhere. "What to do...what to do..." A solution popped into my head and I snatched the phone, dialing in her number while dodging hideous, but at the same time very cute, monsters. I held the phone with my shoulder and went back to playing, hearing her familiar 'Hello?'

"Hey…what's up…"

After about an hour of talking/playing/chatting/eating/drinking...I finally got the courage to ask her my nerve racking question: "Do you think Genma likes me?"

_Woah!_ Hold on! When did this happen?! That's what you're thinking right? Well, allow me to fill you in. Just like other girls, you hang out with guys for a while, get to know them, yada yada yada, and you find yourself thinking about a specific one more and more. Am I right? You've been there, I know you have. Well, that's basically what happened here. The problem is...I'm 17. I'm young, inexperienced, not exactly a super model, and, as much as I hate admitting it, have never had a boyfriend before. No, the guy in second grade did not count.

Coming back...

I listened to Kurenai's usual "Hmm..." and waited for her answer. "I don't know, why don't you ask him?"

I could hear her teasing tone and sighed, "You know I couldn't do that!" There was a little pause as we both thought. "What if...you do it for me?"

"...what?"

"Well, you're both online, just ask him through private messages and tell me what he says while I tell you what to say."

"You're crazy aren't you?"

"Pleeeease."

"…Fine."

Oh yeah, it is the _weirdest_ way to find out if someone liked me, but I wanted to be...creative?

"Alright. Just wait, I need to open a private chat box."

I listened to her endless typing while I played, seeing a message for everyone from Genma saying he'd be right back, and I figured it was to chat with Kurenai and continued playing until her voice rang from the receiver.

"Ok, I asked him 'So what do you think of Riku?' and he says...'Why?'"

"Uh...just write 'Just wondering.'"

I listened to her keyboard clacks while I continued leveling up my character.

"He says, 'She's a good friend.'"

"Hmm...say, 'Do you maybe like her more than a friend?'"

_clack clack clack_

"He says, 'I dunno.'"

I didn't even have to say anything as she had already started talking to him. I guess I'm not bad when it comes to starting conversations.

"Ok, I asked, 'Well, do you have any special feelings for her?' and he goes, '...maybe.' so then I said, 'So...you do like her?' and he says, 'Yeah, you could put it that way.' and I said, 'Do you want her to be your special someone?' and he hasn't messaged me back yet."

I sat there, not moving an inch of my body, just thinking. My head was trying hard to sort out this conversation, but was doing fairly poorly. _Ok, so he has feelings for me, and he just said he likes me...well, kinda...Maybe--_ I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard a _beep_ from within the phone. "Did he message you back? What'd he say?"

"Hold on, hold on."

A yellow notice bubble popped on my screen and asked me to join a chat box. I could feel my heart beat speed up as I clicked 'join' and saw my character, Kurenai's, and Genma's. For a few seconds no one typed anything and I spoke into the phone, "So...now wha-" I cut myself off when she suddenly exited from the box. "W-wait! What are you doing?"

"Just talk to him for a bit, don't worry."

I wanted to know his answer to Kurenai's last message really bad as I sat there, waiting for him to type something. With no results I gave a quick 'What's up?' and sat still, just watching the screen, tuning out the sounds of the keyboard on the other end of the line. I looked out the window for a second where a fly caught my eye when I heard a _bloop_.

_Wolfhunter: um..._

_RikkiU: ...?_

_Wolfhunter: ...do you want to go out with me?_

I felt my heart skip a beat. I hadn't expected him to ask just like that. It sort of felt like that basketball that plunged into my face in first grade. Nevertheless, my fingers started to act on their own.

_RikkiU: uh...yeah! _Maybe not the most...confident answer...

_Wolfhunter: Cool._ But it worked.

Yep...just like that...he asked me out on the internet. There was just one problem...

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!

_Ok, on the one hand, I can keep playing and act natural, but on the other hand, maybe I should meet him outside and...do what?...Wait...Kurenai!_ I finally remembered her on the phone that was still clamped between my ear and shoulder and shouted, "Kurenai!!"

There was a long pause after my forced out my cry for help that left me unsatisfied. In the back of my mind, I was hoping for a 'ACK!' or maybe a 'What the hell!' but sadly, it was just the usual taps of her keyboard. I waited for a few more seconds, drumming my fingers on the desk before I yelled another, "Kurenai!"

"AEH! WHAT?!"

_That_ was a satisfying answer right there. I couldn't help but burst out laughing while she just kept asking 'what?' over and over. Finally able to keep my composure, I quickly reverted back to my panicking self.

"What am I supposed to do?! He asked me out and I said yes and now I don't know what to do, I mean am I supposed to keep on talking to him like always online or should I go outside and knock on his door, but that would be weird so maybe I should ask him to meet me outside?! WHAT. DO. I. DO??"

"First. Breathe." I took the much-needed air in quickly after my long run-on sentence, the enemy of all authors. In my seat, I was getting a little jittery to say the least, impatient to hear what advice Kurenai was cooking up for me.

"Riku, just let things work itself out. Just relax, everything will go fine."

Hm, not bad. The advice was actually pretty good. Of course, I was still freaking out even though it did calm me down just a little. And there was the beep. That single beep knocked all the calmness (if there was any left) right out of me and I let out a squeal. She asked her infamous 'What?' and I sighed heavily, taking a few deep breaths. My cursor clicked on the box and my eyes sped through Genma's message a few times. "Ugh, Kurenai, I gotta go, I'll talk to you online later, 'k? Bye."

I hung up, half-hearing her goodbye while I processed the message through my already jumbled brain. Some spacing out, some calming-down, _then_ I flew out of my spinning chair and down the hall to my parent's room, seeing my mom on the bed watching her dramas. "Mom! I'm gonna be outside for a bit! Bye!"

I ran out of the room before she could say anything and threw my feet in my flip flops, slamming my front door shut. For some reason though, I didn't move. I just leaned against the green #7 door, staring at the dirty green carpet that lined the cement hallway. A similar slam echoed from above as I figured it was Genma, hearing his footsteps come down the stairs out into the open, sunny center of the apartment complex.

He stopped on the third to last step and bent over the railing, leaning his head out to see me. He flashed his usual smile and I smiled back as I pushed myself off the door and took a left turn into the covered 'lobby/mailbox' area that faced the busy street. His rubber slippers squeaked against his feet until they hit the same green carpet that covered most of the tiled floor in the 'lobby entrance'.

_What to do...

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A/N 10.26.08: Ok, I read through this and finally noticed some naming mistakes that I forgot to edit when I was going through to convert this into a Naruto themed story, but it's all fixed now. Sorry if there was any confusion.

A/N 10.27.08: To clear up some things, I realize that the internet and One Piece may not fit into the Naruto storyline, but it's my story~Besides, if they have movie theaters (as seen in The Land of Snow movie), then they have internet and anime too!


	3. Voice

**Dedicated to Eric, who gave me the opportunity to write this story.

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"So..." Genma's voice echoed down the arched hall of the lobby and into my ears, starting up my suddenly spaced out mind. It was just so awkward. I've never had a boyfriend before, (I repeat, the one in second grade _did not_ count) and I didn't know what to do. Now that I think back, Kurenai's advice isn't going to do crap for me right now. "I guess we're..." He went on, trailing off at the end and looked at me for the second half of the sentence.

"Boy...friend and...girlfriend?" I said a little quieter than I probably should, but the lobby can echo it a few times for him to hear.

"Yeah." Genma had a satisfied and happy tone to his voice, matching his grin while he rubbed the back of his hair. Suddenly, he walked slowly to my side and I turned around to face him once more when he asked, "Do you watch One Piece?"

I blinked, wondering how we jumped from the subject of the new relationship to a pirate anime. Going along with it, "Yeah, I love that show!"

"Man, I love Zoro! His three swords are so cool! I mean, he can use one sword and be like..." He put his hands together around an invisible katana and struck a pose, pulling a laugh out of me. "Or two swords..." Now he had one in each hand. "Then there are three like this..." I know everyone's expecting him to be like Roronoa Zoro and have a sword in his mouth, that's definitely what I was thinking, but out of nowhere his arms wrapped around me and pulled me close to his chest in a quick hug. I could feel my face flush with heat and my heart take off. My legs were on the verge of completely failing when Genma let go and stepped back, giving his smile. "I gotta go upstairs and help with dinner."

I just nodded with my eyes wide open; my mouth was a little as well. "Uhm...I'll see you online then...?" I managed to say out, the words delivered dazed and wispily. He nodded back and leapt up the stairs by twos as I attempted to navigate my way back down the hall to my #7, one of the hardest things to do that evening.

After the struggle to avoid colliding into the rough walls and finding the door knob, I shut the door behind me with my back and leaned against it. The deep blush was still very prominent and I could feel its heat resonating from me as if I was a radiator. Wow, a single hug could demote me from almost graduating into Chuunin to a heating appliance. Lovely. I heard the soft padding of someone's feet on carpet from the hall that lead to the bedrooms and shook my head, patting my cheeks in hopes of the redness receding from my cheeks before anyone saw.

"What was all that about?" My mother emerged from the corner and looked at me with a confused look before brushing it off quickly and heading to the kitchen. I guess having to live with a teenager taught you to ignore weird events such as this for the protection of your own mental health.

I felt thankful that she didn't pry and let out a relieved sigh before heading to my own bedroom. The setting sun cast a bright orange light through the windows, making everything glow beautifully. I smiled at the vision and belly flopped onto my bed, the mattress groaning under my sudden weight. My heart was still racing pretty quickly, the tingly feeling in my stomach as I thought back to the hug, remembering the warmth and…oh my goodness, his scent. I giggled childishly and buried my face into my pillow as my thoughts continued on.

A few minutes later, the sound of my mother's voice soared through the air over the loud sizzling of the fried rice she was making in her giant wok style pan, "Riku! It's time for dinner!" I laid there for a few more seconds, listening for the different sounds in the kitchen, the clinking of ceramic bowls and plates, the clicks of chopsticks, and once again, the siren of what I have dubbed my mother's 'irritated voice'. "Do you want dinner or not?!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

With a grunt, I rolled out of bed and combed my fingers through my short raven hair, hoping to get the disobedient strands to stop sticking out like antennas, but gave up and went to the bathroom. I ran my brush through, wincing occasionally when it tugged on a minor knot, making my head presentable when I heard a familiar voice from up above. I searched around my tiny little bathroom, confused, until I located the tiny open window up above near the ceiling. It was the voice I had heard earlier singing. Now, it wasn't top of the charts, millions of dollars made kind of singing, but it really wasn't that bad. His voice broke a little at the higher parts, probably because of his low range, which brought another smile to my face and I shook my head, amused.

After a long dinner of my parents talking to each other about their daily findings, and my father mostly complaining about one of his co-workers not doing any of his duties, I gathered up the empty dishes and set them lightly in the metal sink while my father went to the bedroom to rest and my mother to the computer room next door. I began the quick but annoying task of scrubbing the dried layer of leftover food off every surface, furthering proving that I may possibly have OCD.

It felt too quiet. Well, only to me probably. To others, there was too much sound with the running water, the piercing clanks of dishes, the symphony of crickets outside, my mother's keyboard clacking, and my father's TV. It was too quiet. There was no one there to talk to. A few seconds passed and I heard the muffled trickling of water overhead accompanied by that same voice. "Don't worry dad, I'll do the dishes." It said.

There, silence vanquished.

"Riku?!"

I jumped out of my listening and called a loud, "What?!" Maybe a bit too loud.

"I'm right here! Why are you yelling?!"

"I…wanted to make sure you heard me!" I smiled at the save. "Anyway, what?!"

"Can you bring me a cup of tea please?"

"Sure."

Racking the final plate, I wiped off my hands and lingered in the small kitchen momentarily, hearing the running water from up above, now with whistling.

The next morning, I woke a little later than usual, instantly knowing by the lack of sun I could see through my window. I read the clock on my bedside table through blurry eyes, seeing 10:43 AM in digital numbers, and climbed out of bed. I sat there on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath and feeling the relief of using my lungs to their full capacity after a full night of resting.

I went out to the computer room after washing up and waking up from the cold water I used to wash my face, and plopped down on my swivel chair, pushing the large power button on the computer with my foot. The machine wheezed a little before quieting down to a purr and the monitor clicked awake, fading into the windows logo.

My hand automatically directed the little white cursor to the game icon and double clicked, causing the desktop to vanish and be replaced by the login screen. After my ancient system finally connected to the server, I popped open my friend's list, seeing the aliases of everyone in my usual group in two neat columns, except for one. I rushed to reply to the 'hi's' from everyone, adding the fact that I had just woken up and would be right back after I got some breakfast.

"Mmmm…" I let out as the scent of a sunny-side up egg on toast drifted to my nose. I set the plate and cup of hot green tea in front of my keyboard as close to my mouth as I could, forcing me to have to type awkwardly around the food. "Back."

Sometimes I even amazed myself, especially now while I ate and drank normally and fought skillfully with only two hands. Ah, the joys of having the power of multitasking. The usual _bloop_ took my gaze away from the battlefield momentarily to see _Wolfhunter_ had logged on. I said hi before anyone else and continued on playing and eating, chatting with him occasionally. Because I totally needed another thing to do on my multitask list.

About…I think an hour? Or was it a half-hour? I didn't really know, seeing as how the game took up the entire screen, therefore blocking the time in the usual corner. Whenever it was, Genma opened a chatbox and I happily entered, waiting for him to write the first thing.

_Wolfhunter: Hey._

_RikkiU: Hey._

Good start…

_Wolfhunter: You know how we were talking about One Piece last night?_

_RikkiU: Yeah._

_Wolfhunter: Do you want to borrow the episodes?_

_RikkiU: Sure, should I go get them from you?"_

_Wolfhunter: Hold on._

_RikkiU: K._

Suddenly, I saw a large wave of water fall from the sky out my open window, splashing loudly on the hot pavement outside. "What the heck…" I glanced out the screen that kept bugs from invading and up at the sky, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, and went back to my seat.

_Wolfhunter: Did you see that?_

_RikkiU: Yeah, what was it?_

_Wolfhunter: Me. I was checking if I'm above you._

_RikkiU: Lol, can you do it again?_

In just a few seconds, an even larger torrent fell down and I laughed, hearing an echo of it from above.

_Wolfhunter: Alright, here's the disk._

I sat, reading over the message with confusion all over my face. Was he going to bring it down? Then why go to the trouble of checking if he was above? I sat back and thought for a bit until another message popped up.

_Wolfhunter: Look out your window._

My eyes flashed over and I saw a round disk reflecting the sun periodically as it spun slowly by a white line. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the draw string for pulling up window blinds. I chuckled and dislodged the dusty screen from the window frame and set it outside on the ground, leaning towards me against the window. Leaning out, I freed the disk from the knotted loop and turned to look up, seeing his big smile. "Thanks!" I called up and disappeared in through my window, re-installing the screen as the cord was reeled up.


	4. Dare

**Dedicated to Aaron for putting up with my whining online.

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"Riku, get off the computer and help me with laundry." I sighed and reluctantly told everyone I had to log off. I heard a second, more irritated, call from my mother again and rushed out of my chair, the seat spinning from the momentum. The moment I came into my mother's view, a large blue basket of dirty clothes was dropped into my arms that nearly slipped through my fingers and onto my toes. The faint foul stench that came off from the load burned the inside of my nose, most likely from my father's socks. I stuck my tongue out while my face twisted in disgust and I held the basket as far away as I could as I searched for my flip flops blindly with my feet.

While the two of us made our way around the pool in the sweltering, cooked air towards the apartment parking lot where the laundry room was located, my mother stole my attention with an amused, 'Hey.'

"Hm?"

"When I was getting the clothes, do you know what I saw?"

"What?" I asked, becoming genuinely curious and pushed open the creaky wooden door letting out all the soap smelling warm gust out of the tiny room.

"I passed by the window and saw Genma-kun," She set her basket on one of the top-loading washing machines heavily, "and he was leaning against the tree in the strip garden around our porch, staring up at the sky with his arms crossed."

I lobbed my laundry load next to my mother's and fished a handful of quarters from my pocket, beginning to load up the coin slots in the two machines we were going to use. "Why?"

"That's what I was wondering," She threw the clothes of each basket into the machines, sorting the lights and darks as she talked, "So I asked him and he said 'I was just thinking of things.' I kind of just looked at him and said, 'You know that there are a bunch of ant crawling onto you right?' He says, 'Yeah.' and I just nodded and walked away."

I couldn't help but laugh, seeing a big smile on my mother's face as I painted the picture in my head. I had a feeling that he wasn't just there to think with the ants, but maybe for me to notice him? Well, at least that was what I was hoping. No wonder he had logged off so early. Anyway, I continued to load the quarters with a smile that wouldn't fade.

My mother did a small double-take when she glanced over at me, probably from the jingling of coins falling into my loose pocket. "What are you grinning about?"

I could see the interested glint in her eyes and turned the dirty knobs on the washer to adjust to our usual settings. "I don't know, just from what Genma did, I guess." I pushed the dispenser and listened for the hollow sound of the quarters dropping into the structure.

"Is that really it?"

"Maybe?"

"You are a terrible liar."

"Thanks, mom."

I wonder…does being boyfriend and girlfriend count when the two don't make the slightest contact usually? You know, with the exception of brushing against each other in the hall or from handing things to the other. Just because we've been labeled as being in a relationship, it really didn't feel like it to me. I mean, I don't want to be like a bunch of people my age who think that having a boyfriend was for the dates, making out, and of course, sleeping with each other, but it should still be more than a 'hi' right? But now that I think about it, I do the thing that most couples don't usually do: swimming everyday and seeing him topless…yeah. Ahem. I'll just stop right there. Heh. Well, I'll give it more time.

---

After the last of the laundry was scooped out of the machines and brought home, I was finally granted some free time while my mother started folding the first load. When I told her I was going swimming with the guys again I had noticed the eye roll she had tried to hold back, an activity neither of my parents really want to condone.

Immediately after I shut the door, the sound was copied from above and across the entire complex, all the guys emerging from their own apartments. I held still and listened to the closest pair of feet coming down the metal stairs. The swarm of butterflies immediately returned in my stomach when I saw his topless figure. It bothered me immensely that the sight was only beginning to cause my reactions now that we were…uhm…yeah.

"Hey Riku." He flashed me that smile that always melted away the very thought in my head every time.

"Uh…" My voice staggered as the butterflies flew up into my throat and I swallowed hard. "H-hey. You ready to lose in a breath holding contest again?" I grinned and walked out into the pool area with him following closely behind but I could see him increase the distance between us when the other boys joined.

I laid out my beach towel on the hot pool chairs in hopes of the sun baking the cloth enough to keep me from freezing when I got out of the water later and kicked my flip flops underneath it before flying through the air and into the water. My whole body shivered as I kicked up the surface, hearing Kakashi yell in an annoyed voice. "Come on Riku!"

He shook out a million drops of water from his spiked silver hair, shooting a glare at me, and cannonballed two feet away from me.

I ducked under the huge wave of water that surfed towards me and shook my head as well when he came up, water showering his face in revenge. The rest of the group dove into the cool water with several loud whoops except for Genma. In the back of my mind, I hoped hard that the landlord didn't hear us because I really didn't have any desire to be lectured by the old man again while my eyes scanned the pool edge. I stopped when I could see the thick, flowing black hair of Kurenai outside the locked doors of the apartment. With a 'hup' I pulled myself out onto the ledge and hopped on each foot across the burning concrete until she reached the carpet of the lobby.

I pulled open the heavy door, "Hey Kurenai, wasn't expecting you today. You here to swim…judging by your attire?" I looked over her red two piece 'tankini'. Her eyes weren't really at me while I talked, which felt just to myself, but on the boys behind me. I knew she was completely focused on Asuma and stepped aside with a sigh and watched her drift in on cloud nine.

"Kurenai's here!" I called out, noticing the temporary cease fire of water and the heads turn to the two of us, though I didn't look at any of them but the back of one. There he was on one knee by the edge, still as a statue with his gaze following me. I padded over and leaned over while my arms curled loosely around his neck. My heart decided to speed up from this split-second decision, but feeling the heat from him against my skin was strangely soothing. He turned his head to look at me and I noticed a smile. "So, you are actually going to swim with us or just sit here and…what're you doing anyway?"

"Just watching."

"Ooh, that's not an acceptable answer." With a grin, I drew back my arms and placed my palms on his back, pushing him over the edge and into the pool with an enormous splash. I could hear everyone's laugh join my own as I took a step back, knowing very well that if I hadn't he would've 'asked' her to join him in the water.

"Way to go Riku! A very good display of you power of youth!" Guy's voice roared triumphantly over our laughter and I wiped away a tear that gathered in the corner of my eye, taking in a few deep breaths. Glancing over, I could see a smug smile on Kakashi's face and felt a light blush streak across my cheeks, quickly jumping in after Genma to hide it. Well, it really didn't help that he was down there right in front of me. At least the water was cold, right?

Breaking the surface, I paddled to the edge and held onto the ledge with one to eliminate the need to tread water. Noticing Kurenai already in the pool with everyone and inching quite close to Asuma, an idea popped into my head. "Hey Kurenai, truth or dare?"

I could see 'uh oh' written all over her face while the guys' had the smiles of amusement.

"Uh…truth."

A sly smile pulled at the corner of my lips uncontrollably, "Do you…like Asuma-kun?" A fan of 'Ooo's' grew when Kurenai's face went through several shades of red, Asuma's not showing up as well against his darker skin.

"Hrm…" I tiled my head with an eyebrow raised, my smile not able to fade.

"Yes…" Her voice came out in a low enough whisper that I nearly missed it. The two's blushes deepened further, Asuma's more prominent now. Kakashi's chuckle rang from his chest and he turned to look at me then it seemed like he was gazing past me. With a turn, I realized that Genma was silently behind me, holding on the ledge as well. My head spun back to look at Kakashi, the smug smile back. I suddenly felt his breath run over the back of my neck and my shoulder, sending a shiver through my spine.

"Did I scare you?" I could hear the pick up the smile in his whisper a lot closer to my ear than he was before.

"Pfft…no." I lied.

"Kurenai, want me to get revenge for you?" My gaze drifted up to Kakashi and I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when Kurenai gave him a nod. "Genma, truth or dare?"

"Hmm…dare."

"I dare you to kiss Riku."

My mouth fell open and I stared at the group stunned, not able to even try and see what Genma's reaction was. A silence hung over everyone, though I could clearly hear the laugh of Kakashi just from his smile. He continued after a few seconds, "Alright, I'll make it easier. Riku, you get to choose where."

"…What?"

"Lips, cheek, hand, toes?"

My face scrunched up in disgust at the last one and stuck out my tongue at him. I slowly glanced back and noticed Genma's wandering eyes at the sky. It was as if Kurenai and Asuma transferred their deep blush to the two of us in their amusement and payback. Another silence.

"H-how 'bout…I take his dare?"

Kakashi's grin spread even wider, if that was possible. "That's even better."

I spun around and switched the hands that held me to the ledge so I faced my target. His gaze fell down to me and my face got even warmer. Hesitantly, my free hand went up shaking a little to cup the side of his face and I inched closer little by little until I was close enough to feel how warm he was as well. Swallowing my nervousness and momentarily forgetting there were four pairs of eyes staring at us, I placed a kiss on his cheek and a loud outburst of cheering and 'YES!' erupted from behind me, causing me to jump and pull back. I felt his heart rate speed up immensely with my thumb at his neck and swiftly ducked down into the water.

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A/N: Review please~


	5. Gentleman

**Dedicated to Rebeccah, for being there when I was blinded by lost love.

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**

I hated it. It didn't matter how many times I did it, I hated folding laundry, especially when there was a lot and forced me to lose an entire afternoon's worth of summer. I waddled down the narrow hallway, careful not to scrape the backs of my hands against the walls as I carried the basket of folded clothes into my parents' room. Since both of them were in the kitchen preparing dinner, the room was dark except for the foul green colored light seeping in through the windows from the pool. The laundry was set down heavily on the carpet, the floorboards underneath creaking under the unwanted weight, and I sighed in relief with the easing strain on my back. Yeah, I know, lift with your legs, not your back. Pfft, whatever.

I twisted my upper body back and forth a few times, hearing some popping in my spine (I don't care if it's not ladylike), then an echoing voice coming from an odd direction. I blocked out the roar of the stove hood and my mother's frantic vegetable chopping in hopes of making out what the voice was saying and whose it was. It led me to the half open window and I peeked out, seeing the figure of a guy bathed in the green light of the pool. Listening closely, I slowly deciphered what he was saying.

"Shiranui Genma is up for the hundred meter dash and has a good chance of taking the gold tonight! Ready, set, GO!"

He suddenly ducked underwater and kicked off the wall, free styling so quickly through the water he appeared to be flying. Just before he reached the opposite side of the pool, he came up for a quick breath and front flipped in the water to kick off once more and raced back to his starting point.

I stifled a giggle and wretched the old window open all the way while he rose through the surface and wiped his face with his hands, the dull screeching of the metal frame grabbing his attention immediately. I leaned on the window sill, stretching a hand out and waving with a smile. "And Genma has taken the gold."

My favorite grin spread across his face and he interlocked his fingers behind his head, almost as if in embarrassment from being seen.

"So what are you doing, swimming at…" I peeked over at the clock on the bedside table, "8:30 in the night?"

"I guess you could call it training for the school year."

I chuckled and rested my chin on my crossed arms over the sill, the smile on my face refusing to fade.

"Hey, can you come out? I think it'll be a lot easier to talk."

I could hear the hope in the tone that he didn't try at all to hide and thought it over. "Lemme go check." I rushed back through the hall and nearly slipped as I turned out into the main room. Stopped by the kitchen, I could see the questioning look in my mother's eyes when I suddenly appeared but ignored it and blurted out, "Oh, I see you're not done with dinner yet, I'm gonna be outside for a bit and I'll be back a little, ok? Bye!"

I really didn't think about waiting to hear her answer since it was just outside and zipped out the door without bothering to put on my flip flops. As I neared the pool, my heart sank a little when I saw the unbroken surface of the pool and stepped a little closer, peering into the lit water. I nearly had a heart attack when something dark popped out right near the edge and splashed my feet. I let out an unexpected squeal and jumped back from the cold water with a glare that was shattered when I saw his grin. I watched him run a hand through his wet hair and slicked it back out of his eyes while I crouched down in front of him and crossed my arms over my knees.

"So what're you doing out here so late?"

"This." He grabbed my arms before I had any time to react or scream and pulled me towards him, both of us falling into the freezing water. My eyes stung and my nose as well as water came in the wrong way. I didn't even have time to struggle to swim up when my head emerged from the surface with his arms wrapped around me securely. My feet searched underneath me until it touched the floor of the shallow end as I blinked quite a few times until I could see without everything stinging and blurry and looked up at his grin.

"What was that for?"

"Revenge for earlier."

I sighed, "I should've seen it coming."

"And since you took my dare today, I should pay you back." Without warning, he eased down and lightly pressed his cooled lips to my warm ones, sending my heart up into the heavens and my mind following shortly after. After a long second, he pulled away and I involuntarily pouted a little which brought a smile forward and raised eyebrows. With both of us still in the same state of mind, he pulled me into another kiss, albeit much deeper than the previous.

As with all teenagers, the natural hormones began to brew and I could feel the both of us getting warmer by the second even in the cold water, our heartbeats both racing against each other. Involuntarily, I found my hands roaming over his chest, fingertips exploring and memorizing the feel of his skin and every ridge, his own sliding down along the back of my soaked shirt that stuck tightly to me. My body got the best of me when my hand slid down like his under the water and tugged at the useless knotted drawstrings of his trunks. As I worked on my task, I felt a few of his fingers hook on the hem of my shirt and slowly pull up, peeling the fabric from my skin.

I prepared myself for whatever may happen next, even if I was lost in my mind at the moment, but suddenly, he let the cloth go and smoothed it against my back once more, breaking the prolonged kiss. His arms brought us into a tight hug and I wrapped mine around his waist while his were around my forearms.

"What's wrong?" I rested my cheek on his shoulder – it was a good thing the pool sloped enough for him to be at a height where I could do that – and listened intently.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." His voice seemed to be screaming regret to me.

"What, I'm not good enough?"

"No, it's not that at all. It's just that…I'm nineteen and you're seventeen…I can't let you go through with it if you're underage. I wouldn't a very good gentleman if I allowed it, would I?"

"You can't stop being a gentleman for a night?" He chuckled deep in his throat and chest.

"Don't get me wrong, I really want you to be mine…but it's too risky right now. And you might change your mind later, you know?"

"Like that'll ever happen."

"It might. And don't forget, Riku, your birthday is next month. How 'bout I save it as a present right at midnight?"

"You promise?"

"Of course. You don't believe me?" The regret I had heard before was suddenly replaced with amusement and teasing.

"I do, but how can I be sure?"

"Because I almost went through with it in this stupid pool." I couldn't help but laugh at how silly the answer was, even though it was completely true, and buried my face into his shoulder, my shoulders shaking as I did.

"Hey, come on now." In a split second, I felt the usual sting of water up my nose and opened my eyes, seeing the blurry green vision in front with the guy who had just pulled me down unexpectedly. I frantically spun myself upright and stood up on the rough pool floor, pinching my nose from the odd and painful sensation from being upside-down underwater. I pushed dripping bangs from my face and splashed in the general direction of Genma, hearing his deep laugh.

Unfortunately, it was drowned out by a much higher voice calling, "Riku! Stop flirting and get in here, its time for dinner!"

"Aw, don't say it like that!" I complained back and could barely make out the huge smile of satisfactory on her face. Stepping out of the pool via stairs, I sloshed my way across the concrete with my heavy sweatpants, leaving a trail similar to a river as the water tried to drain from the fabric. I quickly wringed out most of it from the bottoms of my pants and my shirt and glanced at Genma. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep, right here." He grinned and ducked underwater just as the dark figure of my mother appeared at the large sliding porch door again.

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A/N: Please review~

10.6.08: fixed mistakes. now it actually makes sense~


	6. Mirror

**Dedicated to Shirley for giving me ideas for my stories.

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**

I resisted the urge to giggle really loudly like a kid opening presents at Christmas and getting just what they wanted as I turned down the hall to my apartment door. On my walk back, my head cleared as slow as my snail pace and the conversation I just had began registering. What had made me ask that in a heartbeat? I felt heat rush to my face, giving me a strange dizzy sensation, but I managed to step in a straight enough line to avoid running my face against the wall. _Did I really just ask him to promise me that…?_

I know it's only been about a week since the start of the whole thing, but…it's normal at this age? Yeah, that's it. It's normal. I sighed at my pathetic attempt to reassure myself and went in. The sounds of cooking had stopped. In fact, it was dead silent. I hadn't been outside _that_ long, right? Was my mother furious that I was in the pool? She didn't seem that angry when she called me in…

While I sorted through the long list of deathly possibilities, I held my pant legs up off my carpet and power walked across the short distance to my room, afraid to look over at the dining table. My body was tense as I expected the yelling of a soprano and bass, my eyes squinting in the anxiety, but the moment I turned into my room, I let out a long held breath of relief. Though it puzzled me as to why the quietness wasn't broken by a lecture, I really didn't care with goosebumps raising on my skin from the freezing water that soaked my clothes all the way through.

I placed the stack of clean, neatly folded clothes on the counter by the sink and shed my improper swimwear and jumped into a hot, blasting shower. As I scrubbed, I continued to run through my endless list of the reasons for the silence, all of them ending up with something bad happening to me. Did she see me kissing Genma in the water and what almost happened?

I groaned and leaned my forehead against the misted tiles with water falling on my head, watching the diluted soap mix swirl down the metal drain. After an unknown amount of time of spacing, I rinsed thoroughly and stepped out into the haze of the tiny room feeling cooled off. I'd probably raised the severity of my lecture for taking so long to go join my parents at dinner, sending another wave of goosebumps through my body and forced me to dress quickly into a t-shirt and sweats. Quickly straightening my wet hair with a brush, I ran out, just short of sprint, the bathroom and slowed down at my room when my instincts to delay my lecture kicked in.

I peeked around the corner and my stomach churned when I saw the sullen expression hard on each of their faces. They didn't seem angry…more…afraid? Cautiously, I crossed the room to the dining table and took a seat next to my mother, across from my father. I noticed the absence of hot steam rising from the food that covered the table and wondered how long I really did space out in the shower. My eyes flickered between their faces and clamped my hands underneath my legs against the chair to keep myself from digging in and filling my growling stomach, knowing very well that that heavy stillness of the air was ordering me not to.

A minute passed. Two. I began counting in my head by the third, hearing my father clear his throat when I got to forty-nine.

"Riku…we know this is a little sudden…"

I could've sworn I saw my mother throw a glare at him out of them corner of my eye when he said 'we'.

"We're moving to the Land of Tea." His voice seemed…timid?

Wait. What? A few minutes ago I was freaking out over getting yelled at for playing in the pool and being late for dinner. Now I'm listening to what sounded very much like a confession. Did our roles switch without my knowing? Since when did I become the adult listening to a child admit a fault. A lump in my throat swelled and blocked my question of priority from being voiced. My mouth twitched at the first word, staggering until I finally took in enough air to ask a less dangerous question quietly. "Why?"

"I got a better job there. Here, I hardly make enough to pay for anything but food and this run-down apartment. There, we can live in a_ house_, buy things that we want, _live _how we want."

He seemed so sure, so _hopeful_ about this whole thing as if he was finally able to fulfill what, in his mind, a father and husband should do.

"…When?" My voice was still just as quiet, if not more.

He looked up at me for the first time with an apologetic face. "The eighth of next month."

The lump swelled. My vision blurred. My voice cracked. "O-oh…uhm…" Not able to force any more out, I left my seat and strode back in my room, feeling drops rolling down my face in waves. Closing the door behind me quickly, I toppled onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow, soaking it. Just a week ago I was like this, feeling so bliss and giddy I had nearly screamed in excitement and fainted. I hated how it could change so dramatically.

What was I thinking then? What was I thinking about while I lay there, tears coming as silently as it was out in the dining room? All thoughts were scattered, mixed and grouped together all wrong. Suddenly, breaking through every single thought like raging bull, his face and the words he had whispered into my ear. _'…I really want you to be mine…' _And when I thought I couldn't cry anymore, fresh ones began pouring over the edge as my fingers gripped the edges of my pillow, the agony ripping a tear in my chest.

It hurt so much…too much. Why did I ask him to make that promise? When did I become so sure that I was even able to say those words as unbelievably smooth as I had?

When did I love him so much?

I never knew you could run out of tears. They had stopped a while ago, not even the aching could bring them forth again, and maybe that was a good thing. I turned my head to the side and stared out the window, a little surprised that the faint light of the rising sun was beginning to peek over the apartment next door. I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep at all, with the night being dreamless, which was quite odd, and slowly began to feel the weight of a comforter on top of me.

I glanced at the blurred clock on the table by the bed, sighing at how early it really was, and swung my feet over the edge of the old mattress. With a push off of my hands I stood up and tottered over to my bathroom, ignoring the dull thump of the comforter falling to the floor. I stared into the mirror, quickly looking down at the sink before I took in too much of the stained faced, tangled hair mess that gazed back through blood-shot eyes. I quietly washed my face and brushed the knots out absently. Like a ghost, I drifted out the apartment and into the crisp morning air to the edge of the pool. My sweats were rolled up to my knees as my feet dangled in the freezing water.

"The eighth…" I muttered, barely parting my lips.

'…_I'll save it as a present right at midnight…'_

"…That's too late."

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A/N: Review please~


	7. Classmates

Please R&R~

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I couldn't tell him the news.

I didn't want to see what expression he would make.

I didn't want to hear what he would say.

I…

Was selfish.

If I was brave enough, I would've argued the fact that I was old enough to live by myself, but I really wasn't.

How many times a day do I use the word 'I'?

---

By the time my mother had called me back into the house, a good two hours had passed and my toes looked like prunes. Very attractive, no? I took a few extra steps on the warming concrete until I stopped leaving wet prints and went back into the apartment. My nose was immediately assaulted with the smell of eggs on toast – my usual – but it really didn't appeal to me at the moment. My parents turned to see me close the door from their regular seats at the table. I figured my mother had told her husband that I was outside, but they didn't question me while I chewed half-heartily on my toast.

The phone suddenly rang and my mother picked it up, voicing an "ah" before handing the receiver to me. "Hello?" I tried to raise my voice from the dead, though judging by how it sounded in my head, I must've done a poor job.

"Hey, can I come in?" A very scratchy version of Kurenai's voice rang. I finally noticed the busy noise in the background and pressed nine on the keypad, unlocking the front doors of the apartment complex.

Almost instantly, our front door was pounded on and she plowed in through the normally locked dead-bolt that I had forgotten to secure on the way in. I set down my toast to greet her, only to have her body tackle me like the bulldozer she was. "How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Her voice was strangely soft and soothing compared to her entrance.

"Hm." I murmured in an uncaring ton.

She nudged me down the hall and into my room, pushing me to sit on the bed with her.

"How did you find out?"

"You mom has pretty much told the entire village, though I think I'm the only one who's really listening to what she says."

"Ah."

She wrapped her arms around me and I wrapped mine around her waist.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"No…" My voice cracked at the end and rose into a cry.

Or, at least I wished I had. I wanted tears to drown out how lonely I felt, but I figured all my tears ran out last night, leaving me to suffer dry.

"Come on, you still get another month. You can cry about it when it's time." Her voice quieted the turmoil in me just a little.

"I'm all cried out anyway. No more tears in me."

"Well!" Her voice suddenly became a chime. "That means my plan for today is still in motion1"

I pulled away and looked at the glint in her red eyes. "What do you have planned?" Honestly, I was a little afraid as I always was when it came to Kurenai's plans.

"Just meet me at Ichiraku Ramen at eleven and you'll find out!"

I watched her wink and zip out my room, followed by the slam of the front door. "Hey, I thought you were here to comfort me!" I yelled out playfully with a grin on my face as I went out to the main room. I chuckled and turned to my stunned parents who were probably amazed with my sudden change in mood. I glanced up at the clock and groaned at the measly two hours I had. Not having much to do, I began flipping aimlessly through the TV channels without coming up with anything good to watch from out small selection. I finally settled on a re-run of a cooking show and I remembered my breakfast, quickly grabbing it before continuing to watch.

---

I slowly walked down the bustling street, careful to avoid the frantic people hurrying to finish their weekend shopping. There was heavy doubt in my mind that I would enjoy the secret plan, in fact, I'd probably hate it, thinking of all the plans Kurenai had dragged me into before. Oh well, it'll make her happy. Wait…when was Ichiraku's ever _this _busy? I mean, it was only a small group of around seven, but that was really busy considering how many people come to eat at any given time. The last time there were more than three was during the now-blown-over diet ramen craze. It took me a few seconds to realize that Kurenai was among them, chatting away until she noticed me and ran over with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, you made it! Come on! Don't just stand there in the middle of the street!" She took my wrist and dragged me the little way over to the group but stopped short when I resisted strongly.

"Why am I here with a bunch of guys and girl from class?" I asked, though very terrified of the answer.

"It's a date."

I could feel my jaw plunge through the sidewalk and out America. "You set me up on a _blind date_?"

"Just go with it, ok?" Kurenai pouted her puppy-dog. A very strong offensive weapon indeed.

"Did you forget that I'm going out with _Genma_?" I hissed through my teeth, my own defense.

"Oh…right. Well, don't think of this as a date, more like…a company meeting. Yeah."

"What?!" I managed to get out before she pulled as hard as she could and took me the rest of the way to the ramen bar. I scanned the group before me that had quickly stopped chatting and were staring at me with curiosity, some with raised eyebrows, and some with just polite smiles that were most likely forced. I picked out Asuma's dark face from the gathering and gave a quick acknowledging nod before looking through the other's faces. There were a few guys from the academy – I have to admit that Kurenai was very good at picking the cuter ones – and some girls that I never talked to and passed by as they traveled in massive roadblocks in the hall. There was one that caught my attention the quickest though. The new girl standing at the very left, staring at the seemingly interesting dirt she walked on, that had just transferred to the academy during the last two weeks of the school year. I had seen her around a few times, but she never really stood out to me that much…or the fact that I never really saw her with everyone walking in my way. What was her name again…? It slowly occurred to me that everyone was telling me their names and that they were going straight out my other ear. The only one I really listened to was the new girl's, though I barely heard it with her quiet voice that I had to ask, "Uh…sorry, what was it again?"

"K-Katsuki…Fujiwara Katsuki."


	8. Boxes

This chapter ended up coming out really awkward because I pretty much wrote it as three separate times of the plot, so I guess you could say they're three different chapters. But a 60 word chapter wouldn't work very well, would it? Soooo~ It's now chapters 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3. Have fun~

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_Sometimes, when I think back to that time, I always wonder: What would my life be like if I never said 'Hi' to her?_

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-8.1-

"Hey, I'm Kiyotake Riku." I said with a bow out of politeness, more so to Katsuki than anyone else because, honestly, I didn't really care about any of the others. Not to be mean or anything, but I don't see myself getting them extravagant Christmas presents anytime in the future.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's go in for lunch!" Kurenai suggested with a pushy, but still very happy, tone. Writing this now, I realize how different she was back then compared to now. She wasn't as serious back then…what the heck happened?

As everyone filed underneath the banner of Ichiraku Ramen, I followed after them last and looked down the line of stools. Most of them were taken but there was a noticeable gap between 'them' and what I like to consider 'us'. 'Them' currently consisted of the people who I didn't know and Kurenai, people who had a million topics to talk about, enough that they wouldn't finish their food. While 'Us' was Katsuki, who sat the very end stool, and now me as I sat down next to her, people who didn't need to talk as much and were still quite content with just being next to someone.

Old man Teuchi turned around as everyone was settled, already cooking up the noodles. "So who wants what kind?"

I listened to them name off what flavor they wanted down the line until it got to me and I just sort of stared at him. Should I go with my usual? Or try something new and daring? "Miso Pork, please." Usual, I guess. I glanced over at Katsuki who looked to be deep in thought until she suddenly muttered, "Same as her, thanks."

Watching Teuchi begin cooking up the broth with his extremely popular daughter, I heard a more normal sounding, "Um…" and turned to Katsuki who appeared to be looking straight ahead, but her shifted eyes gave it away. I attempted to strike up a conversation, though I've never tried with a girl who was so quiet even if her eyes showed she didn't seem like the type. "So…you having fun being in a group of strangers?" She arched her eyebrow. "Yeah, weird way to put it, but true, no?"

I could see a small smile playing at the corners of her lips and felt a little excitement that maybe I was making her a little more comfortable here. The clank of ceramic panged in my ears and I turned to the front again to see a steaming bowl of ramen placed on the raised counter. "Thanks." I quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and shoveled more than a mouthful in, ignoring the burning and just enjoying the taste. A little giggle danced through the air to the side and I stopped in the middle of chewing, the uncut noodles still hanging from my full mouth, turning to the source. "Hm?"

Katsuki sat there with her own bowl, but with a decent portion of ramen on her own pair of chopsticks and a smile on her face. I finally snapped to reality from my brief flight to ramen heaven and realized I had put at least half the bowl right into my mouth at once. My brain slowly commanded my teeth to bite down and cut off the excess noodles, then chew. And chew. And chew. And swallow. '_There must be a problem if I had to tell my mouth to do that.'_ I thought as I wiped my mouth with a paper napkin, "Uh…sorry, just a tiny bit hungry…"

She chuckled this time, "It's fine."

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-8.2-

Even though only three weeks had passed, the dreaded day I moved out of Konoha drawing ever closer, I felt that Katsuki was pretty much my sister. We hung out together every day, and many nights for sleepovers, and did so much during that time I didn't even know how I lived without her there. So what will it feel like when I leave? I guess it was my own fault to get attached to more people.

Currently, our apartment had boxes covering every single square inch of available surface, excluding the tiny walkway from the front door to the bedrooms I made by shuffling my feet to clear the path. My mother had a strange way of packing, which meant having the living room divided into sections depending on where in the new house the items would go into. Apparently, the kitchen would be where my stuff would go while the sofa was for the walls.

Anyway, I had dragged Katsuki home with me this afternoon, hoping to get a swim in but unfortunately, my swim suit had been lost in the sea of cardboard. "Well…what do you want to do? Sail on the carpet in boxes and pretend to be pirates?"

Katsuki let out her chiming laugh as she stepped behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Come on, the quicker you pack up, the quicker I get to push you into the pool."

"Yeah, right, like you'll be able to before I do." I laughed while I was forced into my room but the sight of my chaotic room brought laziness to my legs. The only problem? There was so much crap on my bed I couldn't exactly plop onto it.

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-8.3-

I probably should've told him the moment my parents told me, and I've gotten away with the secret since then, but even with the blinds closed and always stopping him right before he got to my apartment, there really wasn't any way to keep it anymore. It's not like I've been avoiding him, well, sure, I've been hanging out with Katsuki a lot, but a lot of that time was also with him, so that's not totally terrible, right?

"Hey…I'm moving in two days…no…I dunno if you've heard, but I'm moving…ugh…" I sat on the bottom step that led up to his apartment, striking option after option as I thought out loud. Was there any way to say it without putting him into shock? I gave up and sighed, twisting my hands together as I waited for him to walk through the front doors of the complex from his summer job filing papers for the Hokage. Sounds fun, huh?

After what felt like forever, the loud clank of the bolt being unlocked echoed down the lobby hall and I looked over at him with my throat in a knot.


	9. Goodbye

_I don't own Naruto, DUH. I own Riku. Please R&R  


* * *

_

Genma came closer and closer as my heart sped up to an unimaginable pace. I could feel my eyes beginning to tear up even though I haven't said a word to him, though the message kept replaying in my head. The smile he always had when he saw me spread across his face, only making my heart sink even more as I stood up.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? Waiting for me?" He said with a playful tone.

"I…uh…I just wanted to talk to you…about something." I probably shouldn't have tacked that last part on, but seeing his softening expression must've meant I looked like a wreck as I struggled to find the right words. Not grasping any particularly good ones, I took a deep breath and looked up at him, "I'm moving to the Land of Tea in two days…"

I had expected something…I don't know, big, perhaps? So I had tensed up for it, braced for it, but…

"Tell me this is just a really mean joke."

All I could do was shake my head and look away from his indecipherable expression. "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier…"

"…There's no need to apologize." And with that, he slipped past me and up the stairs to his apartment, the closing of his door as loud and clear as can be in my ears.

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I lay awake that night, only falling asleep at a godforsaken hour, and I woke up groggy as if I was drunk. _'I'm moving tomorrow…'_ I thought and drew my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and resting my forehead on my knees. With a sigh, I glanced over at my powder blue clock and glared at the hands reading two-thirty PM.

I washed up quickly and changed into the stack of clothes my mom had left out for the move. There really wasn't any point in trying to find breakfast at this time of day, or lunch for that matter since my parents probably thought I wouldn't have an appetite, and they were right. I gave my mom a brief, blank stare, and I could tell she understood how I felt, and she didn't say anything, just nodded.

Outside, the air was already baking and suffocating, not really helping with my situation but I wasn't going to complain about it. My flip flops slapped my heels as I headed down the hall to the open area of the complex but stopped when I saw a figure leaning against the wall from my peripheral vision. I turned to the side, ready to defend from anything, but was a bit relieved when it was only Genma. "Hey…"

"Are you busy today?" He said, his voice low.

I shook my head and he grabbed my hand, leading out the front door and into the busy street. We walked together, side by side, in silence for a few blocks with his hand tightly around mine. After a bit, I realized the loud chatter of the streets had faded away and the light rustling of windswept trees replaced them. We were beginning our ascent along a worn trail up the hill that overlooked the entire village of Konoha and before I knew it, we were both on a soft patch of grass. He kissed me so gently that it instantly brought tears forth, the beads dropping down my cheeks. I don't really remember how it all happened, but we ended up having to slip on our clothes in the end. I'll just let you guess what happened, ok? I don't think it'd be a good idea to write that here.

"Tomorrow, huh?" He asked me quietly, his back against mine.

I drew up my knees to wrap my arms around them and leaned back against him. "Yeah."

"No looking back?"

"Ok."

We both stood up and walked forward, my body trying to turn around to get one last look but I fought against it with a sniff in the end.


	10. Life

_Sorry this chapter is a little choppy, I really didn't have any ideas to connect them. Plus, it's not an extremely detailed story. More like...filler episodes?_

_6.11.09: Oops, realized I had written this in 3rd person instead of the usual 1st, so now it's all fixed, sorry!  
_

* * *

"So many damn boxes!"

"Riku! What have I said about swearing in this house?!"

I let out a loud sigh and flattened another box before tossing it out the door of my room into a pile. We had already been unpacking for two weeks and have only gone through half of our things. Granted, the first week did the hauling of couches and tables, just like when I first moved into that apartment…I snapped back, not wanting to remember much right now, it wasn't the best time yet.

I fell backwards with a roll of my eyes, tired of going through everything and getting deep cardboard cuts. Glancing to the side, I pulled over my messenger style bag that contained everything I thought was important, compared to everything else, and unzipped the main zipper. There really wasn't a point to going through the things since I didn't need anything but at least it was better than unpacking.

"Huh…"

I held a small package covered in thin yellow plastic, sealed with a little white piece of paper. "What day is it…" Pulling out a black notebook that held addresses and dates, I flipped to the page that had this year's calendar printed on it and gazed at the tiny numbers. "Oh my god…" All I could do was stare at the little star on the number eighteen then shift to the twenty-five.

_No…no, it's fine. Nothing's set in stone at this age anyway…_

--|--

"Mom, you can't do this!"

"Yes, I can! I thought I raised you better than _this_!" The completely red woman shook a thin white stick in my face, waving the little pink cross on it back and forth.

I stared at my mother in disbelief but could also see the hurt in the pair of wet eyes. I could see my own reflection in the woman's pupils and all I could think was, _'Why didn't I throw that out somewhere else!?'_ With nothing to say but a sigh, I picked up the duffel bag my mom had tossed onto the ground by my feet and headed down the street, away from the house. Only a little over a week and I was moving again…

"Where're we going now?"

After about three hours of straight walking, I came upon a small wooden building that had a sign hanging over the doorway reading 'Street side Food'. I raised my eyebrow, thinking the name was a little too literal, but whatever.

Stepping inside, I noticed out busy it was for a restaurant in the more rural area of the Land of the Tea, including the warm atmosphere. Everyone was so comfortable and I instantly knew they were all good friends with each other.

"May I help you?"

I jumped a little from the elderly voice and turned around, but had to look down when I realized how short the person really was. She was probably half my own height. "I was just…passing by." I noticed the wise eyes gaze up at me, almost through me, then fall to the bag in my hands.

"Let me guess…you need a place to stay?"

"Uh…I-I…well…"

"You may call me Obaa-san. Your job will be a waitress and there's a room upstairs to your left for you to stay in. Get to work."

"W-wait! What?!" My jaw almost dropped to the floor at the sudden offer for work and board. There's no way there are people like her who just give away things like that.

The grandmother gave a small grin and weaved her fingers together behind her back. "We needed another waitress anyway. Unless…you want to find another place?"

"Well…I…" My mouth stuttered, not able to even begin processing how this was turning out. _Come on! This is the best shot you got!_ "Uhm…thank you!" I bowed deeply and felt a piece of fabric fall on the back of my head. Pulling it off, I saw it was a black waist apron.

"Put your stuff down and get going. Talk to the chef, Kai, for everything you need."

--|--

"Obaa-san…how come you suddenly gave me all this? I just walked in…"

The wrinkled little woman sipped her tea and set it down lightly on the table. Both of us sat in the dimly lit room, having finally cleared all the customers out for the night, sipping tea. She had a very thoughtful expression and a small smile. "Because I could tell you needed some help, along with a push. Also…I know what it's like, just wandering, not knowing what's going to happen. It eventually changes your view on things…No one in their right mind would open a restaurant in a place like this but me."

I chuckled and downed half of my 'leaf juice', as I used to call it, already beginning to love the taste of the drink. "But you get a lot of business."

"Oh, I don't regret it. I get to spend time with everyone and I pick up stragglers like you."

I smiled and finished off her tea, "And I thank you for that. Good night."

--|--

"Whoo, you're getting there, Riku-chan." A middle aged mother said as she fed some sort of mashed up food to a squirming child in her arms. "Pretty soon, you're gonna be dealing with this."

I couldn't help but laugh and set down the bowl of noodles that was ordered, "I'll have to get advice from you then."

"Riku, time for your break!" Obaa-san yelled out, her old, but loud voice clearly sailing over the murmur of the restaurant.

With a sigh of relief, I slowly made my way through the maze of tables and people, careful not to bump into anything, towards the back. I took a seat at the kotatsu they had set up in the backroom that served as storage as well as a break room, and rested my chin on the tabletop. My hand unconsciously ran over the globe formally known as my abdomen and let out a quiet groan. "I love you…but this is annoying."

--|--

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah, I gotta get home." I said, wincing a little when a tiny hand tugged at a bundle of my hair. I cradled the baby in my arm and used my free hand to coax the pudgy fingers from its grip.

The owner and chef, along with a lot of their usual patrons, waved as I began my way down the path, but turned to walk backwards, "I'll come visit!"

_Three days later…_

I stopped right at the open gates of Konoha, staring in with too much hesitation. _Should I really be here…?_ With a breath I forced her foot to move and walked into the village at a grueling pace, only to be stopped by a familiar voice, "Riku?"

I turned to the source, scared by who it was, but was just shocked to see the masked face of Kakashi. I suddenly remembered the first time I didn't see him with his face covered up at the pool and almost fainted from the surprise. "Hey…"

Kakashi stepped over the desk he had been sitting at on patrol at the gates for the day and stopped a few steps away, his gaze flickering between my face and the little baby girl in my arms. "Uh…erm…"

I gave him a small, sad smile and hitched my daughter higher in my arms so she wouldn't slip. "I need your help…"


End file.
